In 1863, at the height (or depth) of the U.S. Civil War, a slave named either Peter or Gordon (it’s never been definitively determined which is correct) escaped, seeking refuge at a Union Army camp. Military doctors at the Union camp examined him and discovered horrendous scarring on his back from an inhumane whipping he’s received on Christmas Day 1862.
Photographers William D. McPherson and J. Oliver who were operating in the camp, photographed his back. The photo was published in Harper’s Weekly on July 4, 1863, shocking readers with its depiction of slavery’s cruelty and immediately becoming a powerful symbol for the abolitionist movement – much as Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s military photographers had when U.S. troops liberated Jewish concentration camps in Germany 80 years later.
The photographers who took the historic pictures of the runaway slave were from New Orleans. The photo, which became known as “The Scourged Back,” was taken in Baton Rouge. It has been on display at the Smithsonian as a reminder of a dark chapter in our history that should never be forgotten – even more so than 1853’s Twelve Years a Slave, the story of the abduction of a free black man in Washington, D.C. who was then sold to a plantation owner in Cheneyville, Louisiana, in Rapides Parish.
But now, Donald Trump, in his efforts to whitewash American history to reflect nothing but sunshine and roses, has ordered the REMOVAL of not only that photograph, but all information about slavery not just at the Smithsonian, but at all the country’s national parks.
It’s a clear illustration of how Trump, Stephen Miller and the Repugnantcan Party fear the truth and of just how far they’re willing to go to apply a broad brush to their version of what they think Americans should know about themselves, the facts be damned.
In truth, though, it’s Trump and Miller. While there may be a core of support, the Repugnantcan Party is basically just too cowardly to stand up to those two racists – and that most certainly includes our two senators.
A couple of weeks ago, I suggested that John Neely Kennedy and Bill Cassidy at least tacitly supported child sex abuse by their votes against releasing the Epstein files.
Mouth of the South Kennedy
Lame Duck Cassidy
I would now suggest that by their silence on the matter of removal of The Scourged Back photos from our national parks, photos that were taken in Baton Rouge 162 years ago, they must also support the institution of slavery.
Louisiana Voice 